Practice Quiz - Ear & Nasal Cavity

The entry of bacteria through which space could lead to an infection in the mastoid air cells:
Auditory (nasopharyngeal) tube Cochlea External acoustic meatus Internal acoustic meatus Sacculus

Which structure is attached to the center of the tympanic membrane?
Foot plate of the stapes Handle (manubrium) of the malleus Long process of the incus Tragus Utricle

A 45-year old woman with recurrent left middle ear infection (otitis media) complained of partial dryness of her mouth to her ENT surgeon. Taste sensation and hearing were normal. After a thorough clinical examination at the hospital, the doctor concluded that the infection must have spread to a component of the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX) that supplies the parotid gland. On which of the following walls of the middle ear is this nerve component located?
Anterior Lateral Medial Posterior Roof

A 3-year-old girl ruptured her eardrum when she inserted a pencil into her ear. Her mother took her to the emergency department after noticing that the child was crying and complaining of pain in her ear with a few drops of blood in the external auditory meatus. The attending doctor examined the child for possible injury to a nerve that runs across the eardrum. The most likely nerve to be injured is the:
Auricular branch of the vagus Chorda tympani Glossopharyngeal (CN IX) Lesser petrosal Trigeminal (CN V)

An elderly patient with chronic otitis media (middle ear infection) might have all the following complications EXCEPT:
Inabilty to chew food due to injury to the mandibular division of the trigeminal nerve (CN V) Loss of taste in the anterior part of the tongue due to injury to the chorda tympani nerve Mastoiditis Paralysis of facial muscles due an injury to the facial nerve (CN VII) Some degree of deafness due to damage to the ossicles

A patient with a facial nerve paralysis suffers from inability to dampen loud noises (hyperacusis) due to denervation of which muscle?
Posterior belly of digastric Stapedius Tensor tympani Stylohyoid muscle

All of the following are true about the middle ear EXCEPT:
The joints between ossicles are synovial The chorda tympani nerve is related to the lateral wall The facial nerve passes in a canal situated in the medial and anterior walls The auditory tube connects the nasopharynx with the anterior wall Its mucous membrane is supplied by the glossopharyngeal nerve (CN IX)

A patient has sustained a fracture to the base of the skull. Thorough examination concluded that the right greater petrosal nerve, among other structures, has been injured. This conclusion was based on which of the patient's signs:
Partial dryness of the mouth due to lack of salivary secretions from the submandibular and sublingual glands Partial dryness of the mouth due to lack of salivary secretions from the parotid gland Dryness of the right cornea due to lack of lacrimal secretion Loss of taste sensation from the right anterior 2/3rd of the tongue Loss of general sensation from the right anterior 2/3rd of the tongue

The location of the otic ganglion is in the:
Pterygopalatine fossa Internal ear Infratemporal fossa Middle cranial fossa None of the above

A patient complains of loss of hearing in the right ear. Examination reveals ankylosis (otosclerosis) of the footplate of the stapes to the surrounding bone. Which part of the bony labyrinth is involved?
Aditus ad antrum Cochlear (round) window Cochlear duct Internal acoustic meatus Vestibular (oval) window

The geniculate ganglion is the sensory ganglion of which nerve:
Facial Glossopharyngeal Trigeminal Vagus Vestibulocochlear

Repeated middle ear infections have destroyed the tympanic plexus in the middle ear cavity. The loss of preganglionic parasympathetic fibers that pass through the plexus diminish production of:
Mucus in the nasal cavity Mucus on the soft palate Saliva by the parotid gland Saliva by the submandibular and sublingual glands Tears by the lacrimal gland

The soft palate is active in all of the following except:
Breathing Chewing Coughing Swallowing Yawning

Irrigation of the maxillary sinus through its opening is a supportive measure to accelerate the resolution of a maxillary sinus infection. Which of the following nasal spaces is the most likely approach to the sinus opening?
choana inferior meatus middle meatus sphenoethmoidal recess superior meatus

In assessing a deep laceration of the right side of the nose, the attending physician determines that the cartilage on the lateral side of the nostril has been cut. What cartilage was injured?
Accessory Alar Lateral Septal None of the above

The nasolacrimal duct empties into which part of the nasal cavity?
Hiatus semilunaris Inferior meatus Middle meatus Sphenoethmoidal recess Vestibule

The pharyngeal tonsils, or adenoids, may become inflamed and in serious cases need to be removed. Where would the physician search for them?
In the tonsillar fossa In the pharyngeal recess In the piriform recess In the roof of the nasopharynx Upon the dorsal surface of the tongue

A 23-year-old man comes to you complaining that he can't stop crying, i.e. tears regularly run down the right side of his face. You suspect that one of the lacrimal ducts on the right side of the face is blocked. You look into an endoscope to see if the nasolacrimal duct is blocked. Into which part of the nasal cavity would you look to see the opening of the duct?
Hiatus semilunaris Inferior meatus Middle meatus Sphenoethmoidal recess Superior meatus